pierremartinet

The recent passing of Daniel Carosso, who built the Danone brand worldwide (it’s known as Dannon in the USA) answered a question I’d long asked myself: was there a Mr. Danone behind the yogurt? The answer is yes: Danon is a Catalan dimuntive for Daniel, akin to Danny in English. So the yogurt really does carry Carosso’s nickname.

There are similar examples In France: there really was a Paul Ricard behind the popular Picard brand of pastis (an aniseed liqueur celebrated in the south of France).
French supermarket chains favor names for showcased or store brands. At the Intermarché supermarket that I’m partial to, beef products bear the name of Jean Rozé (and the tagline “parlons vrai“, in English “speak the truth” or, more colloquially, “let’s be honest” or “let’s be real”). But I couldn’t find out from the Jean Rozé site whether there is or was a person by that name.
I had even less success with Monique Ramou, whose name graces packaged deli meats at Intermarché. Poor Monique doesn’t even have a web site, as far as I could tell.
One aisle over, among the prepared salads, I confess partiality towards shredded carrot salad marked with the Pierre Martinet brand. There’s a lot of presentation: Pierre is shown in a well-tailored dress suit and a tie. And he has a tagline: “le traiteur intraitable” (“the uncompromising caterer”). Pierre’s my kind of guy; he has my full confidence.
I was surprised to learn that Pierre Martinet is an actual person, and an admirable person at that. I learned from the business press that Martinet, described as “the salad king”, started out at age 14 working in a butcher’s shop, then acquired a butcher’s shop of his own and branched out into catered salads. He even stars in his own TV ads.
In the USA, there are plenty of name-as-brand products: Betty Crocker, Duncan Hines, Mr. Clean, Mr. Bubble. The one that fascinates me is Uncle Ben’s rice, because it crossed the Atlantic and thrives in Europe. But the transatlantic crossing has altered Uncle Ben in ways that most Americans wouldn’t imagine.
In Germany, Uncle Ben’s rice is lauded because it’s not sticky or messy. Uncle Ben is a quality, not a person. I can’t tell whether the TV ad is promoting rice or poking fun of German proclivities for neatness.
In France, Uncle Ben stars in a lavish production set on a plantation, probably in Louisiana, possibly in the Antebellum south. The plantation, clearly a prosperous operation, is 100% African-American. There are no slaves (and, there being no slaves, no masters either), just a happy and prosperous family that eats lots of rice.
The TV ad is memorable, and I looked for it, without success. Litigation might have something to do with this. The ad’s tagline is “Uncle Ben’s, c’est toujours un succès” (“Uncle Ben’s, it’s always a success”, or “Uncle Ben’s, it always succeeds”); “success” transcends rice-making to encompass familial bliss. In France, the tagline was read by Randall Garret. A dispute arose about royalties, and Garret brought suit. The Versailles Court of Appeals finally awarded him 45,000 euros.
In place of this ad, I include another. It’s older and not as polished. But there is an actor who plays Uncle Ben. He’s made out to be a real person. This is a little confusing because the setting seems to be wedding, and I can’t figure out whether Uncle Ben is also father of the bride. But there’s no doubt that the setting is ethnic, creole. The actors speak with accents. We’re somewhere in France: maybe Martinique, maybe Reunion Island.